1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for making confectionery products. More particularly, the present invention relates to a process for making shaped confectionery articles wherein a solid or semi-solid multilayered edible slab is fed into a set of forming elements.
2. Description of the Related Art
Confectionery products can be shaped by using various methods and techniques. For example, liquid chocolate can be shaped by pouring it into a mould having the desired shape and then cooling it.
Similarly, forming rolls can be used to make confectionery articles. A set of forming rolls that have recesses or cavities on their surfaces are positioned with their axes of rotation parallel to one another, leaving a small gap between the rolls. Confectionery material, such as liquid chocolate is then poured into the space above and between the rolls. The surfaces of the rolls are cooled to a temperature that will solidify the chocolate as it comes in contact with the rolls. The liquid chocolate fills the cavities on the rolls and as the rolls rotate inwardly toward one another, the chocolate from the recesses of one roll are compressed and joined to the chocolate from the recesses of the other roll. The result is a web of substantially solidified pieces connected by a thin web of chocolate. A similar process is often used for forming peanut butter or sugar toffee based pieces. In the above described process, the rolls sit side by side. However, it should be understood that other roll configurations are possible, so long as one roll is positioned next to the other roll, forming a nip between the two.
An additional forming method is based on compaction of a plasticizable confectionery material, such as chocolate flakes. A parallel pair of rolls with engraved cavities are used to generate high pressure at the pinch point. That pressure serves to plasticize the confectionery material and results in discharge of solid pieces.
The prior art, however, does not teach a method of forming confectionery articles or pieces using forming elements, where the component to be shaped is a multilayered slab. Moreover, the layers, particularly the inner layers, in the multilayered slab may be sticky and/or contain inclusions. These type of components tend to be difficult to handle and often lead to product quality issues, such as misshapened pieces and product weight variation.